Sorry again for taking so long, things have been a bit stressful lately.
Fear not, beloved readers, Kim and Shego are fine, as are their teachers. But clearly some answers are needed, and a new plan of attack.
The first thought in Kim's head once she had regained consciousness was that Shego was not there. Though her eyes were still closed, she frowned at this. In her sleep-hazed state, she was able to freely admit to herself that she rather liked waking up next to the thief, and would prefer it to stay that way. Where did she go?
Suddenly, Kim's memory came rushing back to her. The fighting… the Tenebrae… the sword… Shego! Her eyes snapped open and darted frantically across the cave she was in.
The green dragon lay on the floor some metres away from her, still unconscious. Kim sprang to her feet, ignoring the mild dizziness from the sudden movement and her own tiredness, and made her way over to Shego, kneeling in front of her head. Shego's sword wound had been cleaned of the surrounding blood, revealing a scar that looked much older than it actually was.
"Did I really do that?" she murmured to herself.
Looks like your family's got another Dr Possible. That'll cause some confusion.
"Shego!" Kim turned her gaze back to the dragon's head, the concern on in her eyes fading to relief. A bleary-eyed Shego stared back at her. "You're ok!"
"Thanks to you. Impressive power you got there, Princess."
"I'll say." Adere walked into the room. "Never heard of any healing powers in the dragon realm before. It looks as though you've got a power all your own."
"But I'm only human. How can I have any power?" Kim questioned.
"True. But you've had plenty of contact with one of the most powerful dragons that ever lived, plus you've been surrounded by energy crystals a lot. Not many humans could claim that. Not to mention you were pretty strong to begin with, in body and in will, so your power was bound to be something special."
"Hang on, how did you know I healed Shego?"
"That scar wasn't there before, and yet it looks aged. Dragon's cannot cure injuries, at least as far as I know, and you had your hands over her wound when I arrived. I guessed the rest. But I digress. Shego, can you walk? You were only out for a couple of hours; you may need more time to gather your strength."
"I got cut, I'm not an invalid." Shego's cocky grin kept those words from being harsh as she hauled herself to her feet… and staggered. Her vision blackened for a moment before slowing coming back into focus.
"Oh yeah. Picture of health." Kim deadpanned.
"...I just stood up too fast… Anyway! How did things go on your side, Adere?"
"Nice subject change. Actually, that's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about, follow me." The fire dragon left the cave, Shego and Kim trailing behind her.
Moments later, the trio were standing in a cave not much bigger than the recovery cave they had been in before. With them were Terraemotus, Tonitrua, Frigidus, Ventus, Certamine and Celer.
"Are you two feeling better?" Terraemotus looked towards Shego and Kim.
"Yes, yes, we really were quite worried, what with the fainting and the blood and the crumbling cave and the-"
"What Tonitrua is trying to say is that you were in bad shape back there." Frigidus cut the excitable dragon off before he had a heart attack.
"You think he's bad now, you should have seen him when we found you. Ventus too."
"Like you weren't worried too, Certamine." Celer rolled her eyes at the warrior.
"Guys, relax. We're both fine, thanks to Kimmie here." Shego gave the girl an affectionate nudge with her wing, not even trying to hide the pride in her voice.
"I honestly don't know what happened back there. One minute we were fighting and the next…" Kim began recounting the battle between them and the Tenebrae.
"That's one useful power you've got there. Hopefully, you won't have to use it too often." Terraemotus said. "Now, you said the Tenebrae was made of fire?"
"Yep. Thanks for the heads up on that by the way." Shego teased.
"I didn't think Malum would go to such extremes on a simple scout mission. That thing you destroyed was not only made by Malum, it held power gifted from the dark dragon himself. Lots of power."
"He must have expended a lot of energy, making one of those for every scout team." Shego noted.
"Or maybe he already knew where we were. It's not like him to waste energy without good reason. But in that case, why send a scout team? Why not just send and army or come himself?" Adere mused.
"What if he only had a vague idea where we were? He wouldn't bother coming here until he had a definite location, but he could easily send out a few buffed up search teams to a smaller area." Kim piped up.
"That sounds about right. Good thinking, Kim." Terraemotus praised. "But it raises a concerning question: what do we do now?" We can pretty much guarantee that Malum knows where we are since his search party never made it back. It's only a matter of time before he tries to wipe us out once and for all. He's already severed the link between our world and the human's. Actually, if he had analysed the link, he could have seen the general area where the portals were being generated, leading him straight to us."
"Wait, so we can't go home?" Kim's eyes widened in mild panic. Shego looked anxious as well.
"The link can be reopened easily enough, but only if Malum is dead."
"So." Shego straightened up as her expression turned stony. "We kill him. We fight. But not on his terms. We won't wait for him to gather his army and slaughter everyone in Tutus. I say we attack before he gets the chance, that we go to the temple and take it back by force."
"Shego, that is the probably the riskiest and most foolish plan I have ever heard in my life. I wholeheartedly approve." Certamine grinned at her former student. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm getting mighty sick of hiding in these caves like a pathetic coward. Let's kick Malum's ass!" She stuck her paw out in front of her and it was quickly covered by Shego's, followed by Kim's hand.
"I'm in." Celer's paw joined the others.
"Me too." Ventus added his paw.
"Oh my, this is terribly exciting, finally fighting back after all these years and taking back the temple and-"
"He's in, as am I." Frigidus placed both of their paws on the pile.
"I am liking this plan." Adere joined the group, Terraemotus following suit.
"Remember, this will be a long and difficult fight. Malum is unlike anything you've ever faced." The earth dragon warned Shego.
"Don't worry Barbie Girl, Malum's going down!" The group laughed at her words, except for Terraemotus, who face-palmed with a long-suffering sigh.
Later that evening, Shego was lying in human form in a makeshift bed, Kim's body pressing comfortably into her side. They were wearing the same outfits they had arrived in but sans pants. After checking out each other's legs for about five minutes they went to bed to get some much needed sleep. They were both so busy staring that they failed to notice the other staring just as intently.
Tomorrow should be interesting. Shego thought to Kim as to not wake up the slumbering dragons.
Battle to the death. Can't say I've done that before.
If I fail… this whole world pays the price…
Hey. We will win this. We'll save the world and stop Malum for good.
How can you be so sure?
Because I know you. I know that you're strong enough to beat this and I know that you won't give up. And you won't be alone; all the dragons in Tutus are willing to defend you to the last… and so am I. Kim looked right into Shego's eyes as she said this, meaning every word. Shego wrapped her arms around the teen hero and pulled her close.
Thank you, Kim.
No more words were exchanged that night, no more were needed.
So, I hope you enjoyed that chapter despite its lateness.
Next chapter: Training is over; it's time to head for the temple!